Chairing the Academic Department

James R. Coffman, Professor of Clinical Sciences and Provost emeritus, Kansas State University
Coffman has over 41 years of experience in higher education; he has served in leadership roles in several national organizations and is the recipient of numerous awards. Jim Coffman is the author of Work and Peace in Academe; Leveraging Time, Money and Intellectual Energy through Managing Conflict. His interest in conflict management is institutional in scope, recognizing the potential for both positive and negative impact of conflict on institutional effectiveness.

Susan West Engelkemeyer, Dean, Charlton College of Business, UMass Dartmouth (North Dartmouth, MA)
Engelkemeyer has extensive experience in organizational change and development. She has held roles as a tenured faculty member, program director, and director of quality at Babson College (MA). She spent six years as a senior examiner for the Malcom Baldrige National Quality Award. Her work focuses on systemic organizational change and assessment, key performance indicators, and knowledge management.

Ann H. Franke, Esq., President, Wise Results, LLC (Washington, DC)
Franke has more than twenty years of experience in academic policy, practice, and law. She works with colleges and universities nationally. Her consulting practice covers campus training, faculty concerns, policy development, safety, and management. She is also available to conduct internal investigations and serve as an expert witness.

Brian Gittens, Associate Director of Human Resources and Administration, Virginia Bioinformatics Institute, Virginia Tech (Blacksburg, VA)
Gittens leads the organizational development and human resource operations for the Virginia Bioinformatics Institute. He has more than 15 years of leadership and organizational development experience in a variety of settings, including higher education.  His current research and consulting interests are in the areas of department chair leadership and higher education organizational development issues.  He has published and presented research focused on the transformational leadership behavior of department chairs.

Mary Lou Higgerson, Vice President for Academic Affairs and Dean of the College, Baldwin Wallace College (Berea, OH)
Recipient of eight teaching award and the Bill Cashin Award for outstanding contributions to the study of academic administration, Higgerson is a recognized author and speaker on leadership communication in higher education.  An American Council on Education Fellow in 1986-87, Higgerson has been a regular presenter for the ACE Department Chair Program since 1987.

Janet Wessel Krejci, PhD, RN, Dean of the Mennonite College of Nursing, Illinois State University (Bloomington, IL)
Krejci has over 20 publications and eight funded research grants in the areas of leadership, recruitment and retention, work climate, workforce diversity, and change in both acute care and long term care. She frequently gives workshops, courses, and keynotes on Systems Thinking to help leaders be more effective, efficient, and satisfied in their roles. Dr. Krejci has worked as a clinical nurse specialist and leadership consultant in both acute care and long term care: She has served as Associate Dean and Coordinator of Graduate leadership programs. She recently completed an American Council on Education (ACE) leadership fellowship. In addition to the ACE leadership fellowship, she was selected as a Robert Wood Johnson Nurse Executive Fellow which began in July, 2008.